


What are you running from?

by themagnificentquack



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/F, angst and feels with a happy ending, laurel runs from her feelings, like i didn't even read over it, they're in love, un beta'd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25249507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themagnificentquack/pseuds/themagnificentquack
Summary: honestly this fic is kind of all over the place. i guess the main plot is that laurel runs away from her feelings for dinah (literally)
Relationships: Dinah Drake/Earth-2 Laurel Lance, Earth-2 Laurel Lance & Felicity Smoak
Comments: 12
Kudos: 39





	What are you running from?

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this a while ago but i never posted it bc the plot is kind of all over the place and its longer than my fics usually are but i just finished the journal it was in so i was going back to do like organization and the index and stuff and i read this and i actually rly like the emotion and stuff so im posting it now

Laurel propped her feet up on her desk, her heels having been thrown into the corner hours ago. Felicity was on the couch across from her picking at a carton of lo mien, both of them absorbed in files for Oliver's appeal.

"Thanks for all of this by the way," Felicity said, breaking Laurel's focus and making her lose her place in the document she was reading. Laurel grunted in response, not bothering to say anything as she scanned the page for her place.

She looked up in surprise when she heard Felicity's laugh.

"What's so funny?" she asked, and edge to her voice.

Felicity simply shook her head. "No matter how rude you are you can't hide the fact that you're not heartless," she said.

Laurel raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get that idea?" she asked, the same condescending tone to her voice that she used with her enemies. More like her prey actually. Laurel cringed at the thought.

Then Felicity said the most terrifying sentence Laurel had ever heard: "I know how you feel about Dinah."

Panic swept Laurel's body but she learned not to show it years ago. Instead, she grabbed a book on her desk and flipped to double check a legal definition, saying "I've no idea what you're talking about," as she did so, not even bothering to look up.

"Whatever you say," Felicity said with a chuckle.

Laurel's face was burning with embarrassment but she was fairly certain her makeup hid it well. It was the only time she was glad for the ridiculous way this Earth's Laurel dressed.

\--------

"What's this for?" Laurel asked, peering into the bag of Big Belly Burger Felicity had unceremoniously dropped on her desk.

"It's for Oliver. I didn't realize how much I missed him until I got him back, you know?"

Laurel nodded even though she had no idea what that was like. Her Ollie never came back. No one ever did.

"He thanked you right?" Felicity asked.

Laurel rolled her eyes. "Yeah right before he told me to stay away from his wife," she replied.

Felicity gasped in outrage. "I can't believe him!" she shouted, loud enough that Laurel's assistant came in to check on them.

Once Laurel had sent her away she turned to Felicity who was still muttering under her breath.

"He has every reason to mistrust me," Laurel said. "Besides he has no power over who either of us spend time with," she added. Felicity brightened at that.

Back on track now, she got back to talking. "So now that you helped me get the man I love back, I want to help you get Dinah," she said.

Laurel rolled her eyes extra hard just to prove a point. "I already told you I don't have feelings for her," she said.

"Why are you lying?" Felicity asked. "You can trust me."

Laurel wanted to, she really did. But she hadn't trusted anyone in years. And with this... trusting Felicity with the knowledge of her feelings for Dinah handed her the power to break Laurel's heart with impunity. 

She did it anyway.

\-------- A few months later ----------

Doing whatever she wanted, going back to her old ways, she'd been dreaming of it for months. It was supposed to feel like freedom. But everything had changed.

She was stuck between two sides, between light and dark, her past and her future. She worried that she'd never escape. That she would never be free again.

She spotted the latest item from Shadow Hunter's list from a shelf, neatly stored in an anonymous black briefcase. She grabbed it and turned to leave.

She caught a flash of brown hair and black leather before she was pinned to the nearest shelving unit, Dinah's arm like iron across her throat stopping her cry before it left her throat.

Laurel couldn't breathe for a whole other reason. She usually wasn't this affected by Dinah, but in the past she'd had time to prepare, to collect herself.

And Dinah had never come flying in like this, her hair swirling around her as she crashed her body into Laurel's.

They were so close. Close enough for Laurel to the the hatred, and the satisfaction in her eyes. She could see every line of Dinah's face, all the curves and sharp edges that she longed to trace with her fingertips. Dinah had stepped close to her when she attacked so she could get enough upward momentum to cut off Laurel's cry. As a result, their bodies were pressed together so Laurel could feel every spot where they were connected. It felt like fire and electricity and coming home.

Felicity came running around the corner.

"Stop!" she shouted.

Dinah practically growled at that. "I told you she hadn't changed," Dinah yelled, glowing with anger.

"She has!" Felicity yelled back, desperation leaking into her voice as Dinah pressed harder, making Laurel see stars.

"She has feelings," Felicity said.

Laurel blinked away the spots in her eyes to stare directly at her. "Felicity no," she said hoarsely.

"No what?" Dinah replied angrily, pressing Laurel into the shelf hard enough that her eyes bugged out of her head.

Felicity looked at her pleadingly, already begging for forgiveness. Laurel tried to shout, but she couldn't make a sound. She was humiliated to feel tears streaking down her face. 

Dinah started yelling, demanding to know what was going on, and Felicity yelled back until they were engaged in a shouting match, competing to be heard over each other.

Suddenly Felicity yelled, "She's in love with you!"

And there was silence.

Dinah turned to her, grip loosening.

"What?" she asked, her voice cracking with shock.

Laurel used the momentary distraction to throw Dinah's arm off her and back away. Dinah was all too happy to comply.

Before they could follow, Laurel mustered her breath and let out a cry, collapsing a nearby shelf and creating a blockade between her and the other women.

Then she ran away like the wounded animal she was.

She would have to leave the city, maybe even get off this earth. She could never face either of those women again.

\---------

Laurel collapsed onto the lumpy bed housed in a cheap motel room. She'd spent the whole day throwing Dinah and Felicity off her trail.

They followed her for the first few hours, but Laurel managed to throw them off when she switched vehicles for the second time.

She ended up ditching the car outside of Hub City in case Felicity could track the car. Finally, she used the spare change in her pocket to take the bus to the outskirts of the city where she broke into an empty motel room to spend the night in.

It might seem extreme, and they might not even be looking for her, but Laurel knew just how many surveillance systems Felicity had hacked and she couldn't risk getting caught. Dinah had too much power over and now she knew it.

She had to escape before she got her heartbroken.

Laurel took a quick shower and went straight to bed. It was impossible to know when she might get the chance to sleep again.

-

She woke up without warning. The alarm clock on the nightstand beside her read 4:38 AM.

She blinked away the grogginess and glanced around. Nothing seemed out of place, but she rolled out of bed anyway, grabbing her gun and moving into a fighting stance in one smooth motion.

She swept the apartment and found nothing. She was about to go back to bed when a shimmering rectangle opened up in front of her.

She raised her gun as Sara stepped out with her hands up. They nodded at each other in greeting, but Laurel didn't lower her gun. She didn't intend to shoot, but the last time she let her guard down hadn't gone well.

Sara made her way over to the chair and sat heavily, unfazed by Laurel's gun. Realizing it was useless, Laurel tucked in into her waistband. She still had her scream after all. Sara was far from safe.

As much as she longed to ask Sara why she was here, or just have a conversation with the woman who looked so much like her sister, she didn't have control over the situation. It would be best to leave as quickly as possible.

She grabbed her jacket off the floor and swung it over her shoulders, never looking away from Sara's still form.

She back away slowly, holdng her hand out behind her until she reached the door. Her hand hit the doorknob but before she could twist it, Sara's voice broke the silence.

"Dinah's on my ship," she said.

Laurel froze but said nothing. Her face remained impassive.

"I could take you to her if you like," Sara said.

Laurel swallowed. The temptation was there. She would do almost anything to see Dinah one last time. But she just couldn't face her.

"Thanks anyway," Laurel replied. She opened the door and backed out.

The last thing she remembered was a sharp pain behind her ear, then nothing.

-

She came to in a glass box in what she presumed to be Sara's time ship. Felicity was there, sitting cross legged outside her cell.

Laurel glared at her, head pounding. "Was this all really necessary?" she asked angrily.

Felicity shrugged. "We didn't want you to run off again," she said.

Laurel raised an eyebrow. "Do you have any idea how easy it would be for me to break this?" she asked.

Felicity laughed, just a little. The arrogance of it made Laurel want to shatter everything in the room, just to prove a point.

"There's no where to go," Felicity said patiently.

Laurel smirked, her mask appearing. "I'm sure I could find a way," she replied.

Felicity's face fell. They had just gotten to the point in their relationship where Laurel stopped hiding her emotions.

"You don't have to run Laurel. Talk to me," Felicity said.

Laurel crossed her arms across her chest , protecting herself from Felicity's worried gaze.

"Have you ever been outed before?" Laurel asked conversationally. Felicity shook her head slowly, uncomfortable. "It's shit," Laurel said with finality. She sat on the floor and avoided Felicity's gaze until she left.

It took a while, but eventually the lack of sleep caught up with her and she nodded off.

-

Laurel woke up to the smell of coffee. Sara was seated cross legged in the cell next to her, a cup of coffee in her hand and another next to Laurel's face.

Laurel rubbed her eyes and combed her hair out of her face with her fingers.

She reached out and grabbed the coffee in front of her, inhaling the smell and letting the steam wash over her.

"Dinah gave me your coffee order," Sara said with a grin.

Laurel's heart sped up. She'd told Dinah her coffee order once, in a rude, sarcastic kind of way. But she remembered. Even though logically Laurel knew that Dinah hated her, the implications of what Sara said hit her like a truck. She knew her face was bright red, but thankfully Sara didn't mention it.

They sat silently for a little while, cradling their mugs, lost in thought.

Finally Sara said, "You really like her don't you."

Laurel was tempted to stay silent, to shatter the glass and run. But even though they weren't the same, this Sara was so similar to her sister. For years Laurel had been hiding so much of herself to survive in the criminal world. All she wanted to do was gush about the girl she liked with her sister. But this wasn't her sister and they were no where near close neough for gushing.

So instead Laurel swallowed the lump in her throat and whispered "Yea," without lifting her eyes from her coffee.

"If we go back to 2017 are you going to run again?" Sara asked.

Laurel thought it through and shrugged. "Probably," she said.

Sara smiled, just a little bit.

"I can't face her," Laurel explained.

Sara's small smile turned to a frown. "Are you embarrassed?" she asked, worried that in the absence of their loving father Laurel had been taught to hate herself.

Laurel took a deep breath, and decided to be vulnerable for once in her life. "I'm not embarrassed," she said quietly.

Sara opened her mouth to reply but before she could say anything she noticed a change in Laurel's demeanor. She was crying.

Laurel let out a wobbly sigh, the tears audible in her voice. "It's going to hurt so much," she said, her words trailing off into quiet sobs.

Sara made no move to comfort her. Neither of them were equipped for that. Laurel hid her face in her hands as she forced the tears away and Sara leaned against the glass, visibly uncomfortable.

Neither of them were good at emotions.

Sara left while Laurel was wiping her face with her sleeve, and came back moments latter with a tissue box and a bottle of bourbon with two glasses.

Laurel let out a quiet hiccup filled laugh at the sight. "What time is it?" she asked.

"Who knows?" Sara replied with a shrug as she poured a more than healthy amount in each glass.

Laurel downed hers in one go, gasping as the liquid burned down her throat.

Sara drank more slowly, sipping at the expensive alcohol.

Now that Laurel had opened up she couldn't seem to stop. The honesty was freeing. "I haven't cried since you and Oliver died," she said. Then she took a deep breath and said something she'd buried for years. "I think I stopped feeling things that day."

Sara tilted her head. "When did you start feeling again?" she asked.

Laurel smiled at the memory. "I had broken into the Arrow Cave to plant a camera and Dinah showed up. I called her a bitch and she replied, ''Takes one to know one sweetheart". It was that word: sweetheart. And our eyes met just for a split second. I felt, just this little bit of giddy excitement like a high school crush. It was small, just a spark, but it was something, and it grew over time until there was more light that dark." Laurel swallowed after she finished, worried that she had overshared. She tended to stick to single sentences.

Sara dispelled her fear with an understanding smile. .

Then she left, leaving the door open behind her.

Laurel was tempted to leave the cell but then she would have to talk to Dinah. But to stay sitting in a cell would be cowardly. She would look like a fool. She simply had to leave. She had no choice but to have her heart broken.

She stood slowly and walked out of the cage and into the brightly lit hallway.

Dinah stood there waiting for her, shifting awkwardly and looking heart-wrenchingly beautiful.

She greeted Laurel with a nod and for a long moment there was silence.

Then it was broken.

"I'm sorry I doubted you, and I'm impressed by how far you've come," she started. Laurel knew there was a 'but' coming and she tensed up in apprehension, as if preparing for a fight.

But when Dinah opened her mouth, she realized she just couldn't hear it. She was so tired of being broken.

"Please don't say it," Laurel said, staring at the ground.

"Let me finish, okay" Dinah said.

Laurel nodded, her breath coming shakily. "Do you mind if I raid Sara's booze cabinet first? I just want to be a little buzzed before-"

She stopped speaking suddenly when Dinah placed her hand on her jaw. Her heart beating rapidly, Laurel stayed completely still as Dinah leaned down slightly and moed in to capture Laurel's lips with her own.

Laurel had never felt a kiss like that before, not even with her Ollie. It felt like liquid fire was making its way through her body. For the first time in years, Laurel felt awake, alive.

Dinah pulled back gently smiling.

"That's what I wanted to say." 


End file.
